The banded coral shrimp is a small red-and-white striped shrimp that runs a "cleaning station," picking parasites and dead tissue off reef fish. In the U.S. it lives on warm reefs in the Southeast, the Gulf of Mexico, and Hawaii. It is also called the banded boxer shrimp.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Grows up to about 2 1/2 in (6 cm). The see-through body and claws are banded red and white, sometimes edged in purple, and covered with small spines. The big third pair of legs carries long claws, and two pairs of white antennae are longer than the body. A lost claw grows back, often a different size from the other.
Look-alikes
Golden coral shrimp (yellowbanded coral shrimp)Stenopus scutellatus
The golden coral shrimp has a yellow body and yellow legs, with red-and-white bands only on the big claws and tail tip. The banded coral shrimp is banded red and white over its whole body.
Why they get mixed upBoth share the same Atlantic reefs and have spiny red-and-white striped claws and long white antennae.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Coral reefs
- Rocky ledges
- Reef caves
- Range
- Found in warm seas worldwide: across the Indian and Pacific Oceans (including Hawaii) and in the western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda through the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean to Brazil.
- Preferred conditions
- Hides in crevices, under ledges, and at cave mouths, usually in 6–13 ft (2–4 m) of water, but it has been found as deep as about 690 ft (210 m).
Behavior
- Diet
- Eats parasites, injured tissue, and food bits from fish, plus small invertebrates and plankton.
- Activity
- Sits near a cave or ledge entrance and waves its white antennae to invite fish such as morays, groupers, tangs, and grunts to be cleaned. Adults molt every 3–8 weeks.
- Social life
- Lives in faithful male–female pairs that defend a small territory a few feet across. Females are larger than males.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Breeds year-round. The female mates right after and carries her eggs under her tail; they hatch in about 16 days at 82°F (28°C), and the larvae drift in the plankton before settling.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- It was one of the first species imported for the saltwater aquarium hobby. Its territorial temperament can make it hard to keep.
More species to explore
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